Great private practice for professionals seeking to work with neurodiverse children! - Behavior Therapist Westside Behavior Therapy Employee Review

Promoted After Growth: Started as a behavior technician in December 2022, promoted to lead behavior technician after a year, demonstrating opportunities for career advancement. Support for Education: Received valuable support while pursuing graduate school to become a BCBA, reflecting the company’s commitment to employee growth. Teamwork & Collaboration: The team is caring, supportive, and dedicated, fostering a positive and nurturing work environment where collaboration is key. Strong Support System: Colleagues are always supportive, creating a strong sense of community within the workplace. Exceptional Leadership: Supervisors are trustworthy, reliable, and lead by example, offering guidance and encouragement for both professional and personal growth. Child-Centered Approach: Focus on the child’s well-being and development, prioritizing their individual needs over pushing for progress at any cost. Ethical & Compassionate Care: The clinic upholds high standards of ethical, compassionate care for children, making it stand out from other ABA clinics. Unwavering Staff Support: The clinic provides strong, consistent support for staff, creating an empowering and fulfilling work environment. Pride in the Workplace: The values and standards upheld by the clinic make it a place to be proud of, and it’s an environment where you feel valued both as a professional and as a person. Ideal for Growth: Perfect for individuals looking to grow professionally in a supportive, child-centered, and empowering environment.

Behavioral Challenges: Working with children who exhibit difficult behaviors can be physically and mentally challenging, requiring strong problem-solving skills and resilience. Burnout Risk: Due to the intense, demanding nature of the work and the emotional investment, burnout is a common risk for staff members in the field. Public Perception of ABA: There can be negative public perceptions of ABA therapy, which may sometimes create frustration for those working in the field.

*Note: I started pre-pandemic and before the company moved into a larger facility. - Medical, dental, and vision benefits, 401K options, PTO, some paid holidays - Paid/reimbursed training for HIPAA, safety care, First Aid, and CPR classes -Generally welcoming staff - Great for experience with neurodivergent children and working with children in general - Good for people interested in the field or wanting to become a BCBA - In clinic (no driving required) - Fun facility (lots of space and options for huge variety of activities) - Began feeling supported by all upper management and team members -Trained appropriately and greater effort was put forward to continue training new staff -Most suggestions for client needs were taken or could be discussed with supervisors - Entry level/no experience required (though when I started, staff needed at least a Bachelor's degree and RBAI license)

- Lack of COVID precautions: upper management not wearing masks full time (coughing/sneezing without even an elbow cover), clients allowed to come in showing symptoms, N95s or equivalent being encouraged but not provided, cleanliness not kept up to extent necessary, no closures when staff and clients have been exposed or tested positive, illness protocols were difficult to understand (protocol sheet posted in staff room dated Aug. 2020, but when presented clients who showed signs of illness on sheet there was suddenly a change in what to accept/not accept according to employer). - Lack of supervision: Only 2 certified BCBAs (one being the business owner and the other being completely overworked). Only one supervisor is usually there at a time. Supervisors typically won't tell staff their faults/weaknesses until given a (very late) competency review, passive comments, or just tell other staff. Supervisors show up or leave unexpectedly for any reason between a family issue or to go get their hair done. - Unethical comments towards clients: Upper management not only tolerating staff making negative comments about client's struggles or behaviors, but also joining in and almost leading the conversations. When addressed by staff in employee review, there was no change in behavior. I can understand venting as the job is very stressful at times, but it was inappropriate and unprofessional (e.g., calling clients cry-babies, brats. Phrases like "why can't you just _" and "all you have to do is _" when clients were struggling to faces and behind their backs). Our job is to SUPPORT children and their families, not to degrade and laugh at them. - Lack of structure: mostly regarding moving up in the clinic. Though this field is generally RBAI/RBT or BCBA, there is no clear way to become a lead tech or anything of the like. One position was made for a staff member, but never offered to other people who separately expressed interest in building on their current positions. Staff member in that position started tasks that did not seem appropriate for their qualifications and tasks were not fully discussed with other staff members. From an outside perspective, it appeared that you needed to be buddy-buddy with a supervisor in order to be selected. - Lack of communication: difficulty communicating with techs and supervisors on a case without needing to come in early/stay late or eat into lunch hour (that is already not a full hour due to cleaning and writing session notes). When several employees mentioned starting case team meetings, nothing happened. Full staff meetings became few and far between in the last year. Communication with client's parents appeared inconsistent. - Difficult work/life balance: schedule is M-F 8am to 5pm with an hour for lunch (usually 45min with other expected responsibilities). Can use PTO for any and all time off. I would typically work 8.5 hours a day and be too exhausted for anything else and struggled to find time for needed appointments. Spent a lot of time just being sick and very little on actual vacation. *I will give credit that the employer was fairly flexible with some of my sick time.